Weddings, Chickens, and Secret Nuke-Proof Safehouses

So, things are pretty much going really well. I don’t think weeks get much better than this one. There’s a lot to say here, so keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times and put your seat is in the upright position until we have reached cruising altitude.

From Nuclear Apocalypse Protected Bunkers to Monasteries.

So, on Tuesday our group went to a Military Bunker that was built in the sixties in case of nuclear disaster. It’s super long and was built over a fairly large period of time, but of course, by the time it was finished, Russia could have blown it out of the water had it wanted to. Not only were their nuclear bombs stronger than ever, but the bunker was not as secret as West Germany thought it was. It’s kinda cool nonetheless, with it’s giant doors and decontamination rooms. Actually it was freezing cold. I’m pretty sure none of us were properly prepared for how cold it would be under there and by the end of the tour I just wanted to go back to the surface.

If you want to visit two completely different places in the same day, I’d highly suggest going to a monastery right after a visit to a military bunker. A serene church ornamented with statues and paintings that show its age is a great place to be after discussing nuclear war. I sat inside the chapel for quite some time, because it was so beautiful and quiet. It was really easy to just sit there, relax, and think for a while, until the organ comes blasting in. That’s right, while I was sitting there the organ suddenly began with “Amazing Grace,” and continued playing other hymns for quite some time. It was cool, just really surprising after the dead silence that came before it.

After that we went to the lake nearby. Some people went swimming, others decided to feed the ducks. I decided to feed the ducks, despite how tempting getting my clothes wet was.

Wedding!!

So, on Wednesday I went to Bremen via train (I love traveling by train by the way. Less stressful than by car, and simpler than by plane. You just get on the train and go.) to attend the wedding of my brother Matt and Talina, my new sister. That night was our “bachelor party” for Matt. Of course we didn’t want it to be a go and get drunk bachelor party, so instead we went Go-Kart racing. There’s a random go-kart place in the industrial area of Bremen in some abandoned parking garage that we took him too. Of course we didn’t know it was in such a sketchy location because my other brother Chris had planned it from America, so when we took him we made him look down so that he couldn’t see the signs. When we finally got up the several flights of stairs he was thoroughly confused.

The race track was on two levels of the parking garage, so the whole experience was pretty intense. It takes about fifty three seconds to make a lap and we had a whole 45 minutes to race after the fifteen minute “qualifications.” It was surprisingly exhausting. I only lasted 25 laps in the race before I started to feel sick (only three or four out of the eight of us lasted the whole time). The turns were really jerky, and the seats were not exactly cushioned, which made for a rough ride, and 45 minutes is a long time. Still, it was super fun; I had a blast. Plus, I had a beer with both of my brothers and my dad for the first time. I’ll have to write that down in the baby book.

Oh, and our presents for Matt: hot sauce, because Talina’s German, and therefore can’t handle anything spicy; Pop-tarts, because you can’t get anything quite so delicious in Europe; and Lego Creationary. Just imagine Pictionary with Legos. Yeah, I know you just drooled all over your keyboard. Don’t worry about it. Keep on reading.

Afterwards we went to this really pretty part of Bremen called the Schlachte. A “Schlachter” is a butcher, so it’s a pretty strange name, but it’s basically a wide cobblestone path with outdoor cafes and restaurants on either side. We went to a mexican restaurant that was quite delicious and I went back to the hotel with a very happy tummy.

Meanwhile . . .

Apparently it is a German tradition for the bride to go out with the girls before the wedding and try to sell something. Most of the time they try to sell condoms or booze or something like that, but in Talina’s case it was muffins. They baked a bunch of muffins beforehand and all of the girls went out into town to sell them while wearing these frilly headband things. They made quite a bit of money too, 62 euros. I obviously wasn’t there, but it sounded pretty fun. Oh, and Talina was wearing a spider-woman costume the whole time. Gotta love Germany.

The next day. . .

Thursday was the wedding . . . part 1. It’s required for a couple to go through a civil wedding that takes place in a government building designated for such a purpose, and then they can get married in a church if they so desire. Basically it was just “Sign here, sign there, here’s some advice about marriage” and you’re done. It was surprisingly quick and easy, but I know there was a lot more paperwork beforehand.

After the half marriage we went to the church in Achim (about 20 or 30 minutes by car outside of Bremen) to rehearse the wedding. The church was built in the 13th century, so it’s super old, and I got to play French Horn for part of the wedding, so playing in there was like playing in a cave. I didn’t need a microphone.

The church wedding the following day went really smoothly. I didn’t severely screw up my part of it, my mom and my brother Chris did an beautiful job of providing music on the piano and guitar to the songs we sang. The wedding was really enjoyable. the colors were a light apple green and white, so I got to wear an apple green bow-tie, which was pretty sweet. Not to mention the bride and groom were actually both wearing Converse sneakers with their formal clothing. Afterwards it rained, which means in Germany that they are going to have lots of babies.

Back at the hotel we partied it up at the reception, played some games, and danced the night away. I got to swing dance for a little bit again. Plus, meeting the Gehring family was really nice. They are a great bunch of people, and I found them all very interesting to talk to.

And finally on Saturday, I got to go walking around Bremen with the Gehrings and my family. Bremen is a charming city. They kept everything looking old, so it has a lot of character. There is an area that we walked through that has thin cobblestone paths with plenty of little shops and cafes. It’s all decorated with statues and fountains, half of which were related to the musicians of Bremen. If you don’t know what that is look it up, it’s a fun little children’s story.

But wait. . . there’s more!

Bochum: Where I thought I would be living. A big city in the middle of the sprawling metropolis known as the Ruhrgebiet. (I’m not sure I spelled that right). Apparently nobody like me there so they couldn’t find me a host family. Ebergoetzen: a small town of 2000 near Goettingen in southern Niedersachsen. Totally different location than where I thought I would be going, so it’s taken some mental adjustments. I’ll be living with a dad and mom that are both on their second marriage, so I have brothers (twins a little younger than me), but they live with their mom elsewhere. They visit often, however. The mom, a trilingual secretary, also has a daughter but she is out living on her own. The dad is a police officer, so I can’t be out too late drinking, darn. They have a big garden and ten chickens as well (you don’t know how excited I am about this fact). Their house looks really cool from the pictures, and I’m looking forward to moving in.

I don’t know what my internship will be yet, but I know a bit about what I will be doing as far a school goes. On one day of the week, I will be attending a class in Oekotrophologie. If you don’t know what that is, that’s because you’re really dumb. From what I understand in the class description (it was in German), it’s kind of like nutritional science. It sounds interesting, so I’m going to just go with it. The rest of the days I’m going to be working at my internship, whatever that will be.

Ende

That’s it for this week. As you can see there was a lot of excitement. I think we might be going to the Haribo factory soon too . . .

Wondering what’s in the German news? During the Love Parade (a massive Techno party that happens once a year in a different city) yesterday, several people got trampled to death because of the massive size of the crowd. There was 1.3 million people in a place meant for only 300,000, so naturally some trampling was inevitable. I’m trying to decide if this is worse than Black Friday. . .